U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Rise Slightly, Remain Below Forecast

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time increased modestly last week but remained below market expectations, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday.

For the week ending July 25, initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to 197,000, up from the previous week's revised total of 188,000.

Economists had forecast that new claims would reach 201,000 during the week.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, which smooths out weekly fluctuations and provides a clearer picture of labor market trends, fell by 5,000 to 202,750.

Meanwhile, the number of people continuing to receive regular unemployment benefits declined by 7,000 to 1.782 million in the week ending July 18.

The Labor Department said the insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.2 percent.

Separately, labor market data showed that the U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs in June, well below economists’ expectations of 110,000 new jobs. However, the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent in June from 4.3 percent in May, indicating continued resilience in the labor market despite slower job growth.